By Imane Mahi - translated from Dutch - Soon, on May 12th, Doc Jazz will come and perform his songs in Amsterdam. I don’t want to miss it, and you shouldn’t want to miss it either!

Maybe you are thinking: 'Doc Jazz? Old-fashioned jazz music with all kinds of complex improvisations? Not for me!'

Well, I am a big fan of his music, while I usually never listen to jazz music. In fact, it isn’t really typical jazz, although it does have a “jazzy flavor”. It is beautiful music that is easy on the ears, and one of the things that makes it special is that all those songs put together tell a very clear story.

In an admirable way, Doc Jazz has given each song in his repertoire an important function. You could see it as information in a musical form, lovely music that makes this information very accessible. Subtly, almost every song contains many references to the issue it is about. Quite often, this issue is the Palestinian cause, and that is not to be wondered at since Doc Jazz is a Palestinian.

By Tariq Shadid - The struggle for Palestinian rights has always been operating under tremendous pressure. The Zionist war machine has never ceased its expansionist drift ever since it forced its illegal roots into Palestinian soil in the beginning of the 20th century, and has never changed its modus operandi. It has always paired ruthless military aggression, ethnic cleansing and land theft with a narrative built on misleading euphemisms such as 'progress', 'civilization', 'democracy', 'security' and 'peace'. Never was there a time in the history of the Zionist state when murder and expansion committed in military uniforms was not explained as 'self defense' against 'terrorism', by those smartly clad in expensive suits with matching shirts and ties.

It may be true that dedicated pro-Palestine activists are on to this, and infallibly see through this well-rehearsed charade. Nevertheless, a more insidious front in the war of minds has always been running in the background, that many of them are not always immune to. For the sake of explanation, I shall call it the 'strategy of futile dialogue', and the effects of this Zionist tactic should not too easily be dismissed as irrelevant. After all, public speakers, politicians and activists are prone to succumbing to the confusing effect of that front. They are the ones who help shape public perception of the conflict, which in turn has an effect upon policy-makers all the way up to the echelons of national governments and the United Nations.